PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Pittsburg State returns home after a successful road trip to begin its second trip through the MIAA. The Gorillas will take on No. 5 Missouri Western on Wednesday. The Griffons are coming off their first loss of the season. On Saturday the team will take on Northwest Missouri at 1:30 p.m. The Gorillas will be hosting a Black Tie Basketball Game in honor of Lily Clarke's Wish Celebration. PSU Athletics is asking that all fans come to the game dressed as if they are going to a Broadway show in honor of Lily. The PSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will have many surprises in store for Lily as they reveal the details of her Wish trip to New York City.

Scouting Missouri Western
Missouri Western sits atop of the MIAA poll with an 18-1 overall record and a 12-1 league record. The Griffons upset No. 3 Fort Hays State on Thursday, 77-75, before Nebraska-Kearney halted their 18-game winning streak on Saturday, falling 76-82.
    LaQuinta Jefferson is the conference leader in scoring, averaging 22.5 ppg and is shooting .570 (143-251) from the field. She also pulls down 5.2 rbg. Sarafina Handy also ranks high in scoring with 14.8 ppg. Miliakere Koyamainavure contributes 11.1 ppg and Julia Torres adds 8.3 ppg. Defensively, Mhykeah Baez leads the team with 5.6 rbg and has blocked 22 shots this season.
    Missouri Western shoots .496 (588-1185) from the field, .387 (109-282) behind the arc, and .734 (329-448) from the foul line. The team also averages 84.9 ppg, 36.9 rpg, 15.4 apg, 11.4 spg and 3.2 bpg.

Scouting Northwest Missouri
Northwest Missouri travels to Pittsburg with a 3-16 overall record and a 1-12 conference record. The Bearcats sought their third win of the season against Nebraska-Kearney, 62-32, but fell to No. 3 Fort Hays State two days later, 46-61.
    Tember Schechinger is the lone double-digit scorer for the Bearcats with 11.9 ppg, while also leading the defensive effort with 7.6 rpg. Tanya Meyer is just short of scoring 10 ppg and shoots .438 (21-48) from long range. Jasmin Howe adds 8.2 ppg and Jaylah Jackson contributes 6.7 ppg. Taylor Shull dishes out a team-high 2.6 apg.
    As a team, Northwest Missouri is shooting .416 (402-966) from the field, .327 (89-272) from three-point, and .716 (149-208) from the charity stripe. The team is also averaging 54.8 ppg, 32.3 rpg, 11.2 apg, 6.0 spg and 3.8 bpg

Scouting Pittsburg State
The Gorillas are 15-4 overall and 9-4 in MIAA play and have won each of their last four games, including road wins over Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri. Pitt State is currently fourth in the MIAA standings behind Missouri Western, Fort Hays State and Emporia State.
    PItt State averages 75.1 points per game, while allowing opponents 63.3 ppg. The Gorillas shoot .434 from the floor overall and .349 from long range, hitting 7.4 threes per game. The team pulls down 36.9 rebounds per game, 3.4 more per game than their opponents. The team commits only 11.9 turnovers per game and has a 1.2 assists to turnover ratio.
    Mikaela Burgess continues to lead the Gorillas with 17.2 ppg. She is the team's top three-point shooter, having made 53-of-134 threes on the season for a .396 three-point shooting percentage. She hits three threes a game. She also leads the team in steals with 23. Cathy Brugman is the team's second leading scorer with 14.4 ppg after scoring a career-high 25 points against Southwest Baptist last week and adding 23 points against Lincoln. She was named MIAA Player of the Week after averaging 21 points per game last week on the road. Gafford adds 12.4 ppg to the PSU cause and is the team's leading rebounder with 5.8 rpg. She also leads the team with 33 blocks on the season.
    Hadyn Herlocker leads the team with 77 assists for 4.2 assists per game. She has only turned the ball over 20 times on the season. Her 3.85 assists/turnover ratio is the beat in the nation. She scores 6.4 ppg. Herlocker makes almost 40 percent of her shots from three-point range. Paige Lungwitz adds 5.9 ppg. Shelby Lopez and Paige Imhoff come off the bench to each contribute 4.9 and 4.5 ppg, respectively.
    There is quite a difference in the team's play between wins and losses. In its wins, the Gorillas score 77.1 points. They commit only 10.9 turnovers per game in wins and outrebound opponents by 5.5 rpg. In losses, the Gorillas score only 67.5 ppg, are outrebounded by 4.2 and commit 16.0 turnovers per game. There is not a significant shooting percentage between wins and losses, proving that turnovers and rebounding are important keys for the Gorillas this season.

PSU vs. Missouri Western
Pitt State and Missouri Western have met almost regularly twice a year since the 1976-77 season. Missouri Western leads the overall series 51-23, including a 19-16 record in Pittsburg, a 29-7 mark in St. Joseph and a 3-0 record a neutral sites. Pitt State won last season's meeting, 81-71. Missouri Western won the earlier meeting this season in St. Joseph.
    The longest run of wins between the two teams was a seven-win streak by the Griffons from March 3, 2005 to Jan. 23, 2008. Pitt State broke the streak by winning a 73-65 decision on Feb. 13, 2008. Pitt State's longest streak of wins was four from that win on Feb. 13, 2008 to Dec. 12, 2009. The Griffons broke the streak when they won the game in St. Joseph on Jan. 23, 2009.
    The largest margin of victory in the series was a 29-point win (94-65) by the Griffons on Feb. 23, 1985 in St. Joseph. Pitt State's biggest win was last season's first meeting, an 82-57 victory in Pittsburg on November 30.
    The most points scored by a team in the series was 101 by the Gorillas in a 101-82 win on Jan. 24, 1996 in Pittsburg.

PSU vs. Northwest Missouri
Pitt State leads the series with Northwest Missouri 31-20. Each team leads on its home court, with Pitt State leading 18-5 in Pittsburg and the series tied 12-12 in Maryville. Northwest leads on neutral sites, 3-1.
    Pitt State has won each of the last seven meetings between the two teams. Pitt State's 73-30 win in Pittsburg on December 31, 2008 was the largest win of the series by either team.
    The Gorillas have the longest streak of wins in the series, having won seven straight games from Jan. 10, 1993 to Feb. 17, 1996, along with the current streak. The Bearcats longest streak of wins was four games from Nov. 19, 1988 to Jan. 11, 1992 and from March 4, 2010 to March 5, 2011.
    The most points scored in the series were the 106 points by the Gorillas on Feb. 8, 2010. The match up on November 24  was the lowest scoring affair in series history, with Pitt State winning, 51-44, a total of only 96 points. 51 points is the lowest winning score in series history.